service shut down. caused some chaos in seoul. people having to pay in cash because the debit card payment systems weren't working either. it's not so much the impact this attack had, but it's the fact it took place at all in a country so connected to the internet, so dependent on computers that could be penetrated in this way. it's very chilling indeed in some ways for south korea. >> it couldn't be a bigger technological comparison to be made between north and south korea, but north obviously pretty good at this in a small section of society. what is the south korean government going to do about it? >> reporter: yeah, i think you're right. south korea is one of the most connected countries in the world. north korea one of the least connected at presence very minimal on the internet, but the upper echelons even have access to the internet. but they have illustrated they have put a lot of effort, training, resources into getting the best and brightest in north

korea trained up on cyber warfare tactics. they're very prevalent on the inside in attacking particularly south korean institutions, they've done it on a number of occasions. south korea has been trying to address that. they've got their own training college to sort of sort of train cyber warriors. they also have a special committee they formed just today to tackle this crisis whether they're going to identify the threat they say and implement the kind of countermeasures they say they need to prevent this from ever happening again. >> matthew chance, thank you so much from seoul, south korea. well, tensions rising over the civil war in syria. just of course as president obama arrives in the region. >> that's right. the president is in israel for meetings with prime minister benjamin netanyahu. accusations by the syrian government and rebels of a chemical weapons attack have now raised new concerns. >> important to note there is no verification that either side used chemical weapons, but a

u.s. lawmaker says there is in his words a high probability that the government did or is about to. >> we need that final verification, but given everything we know over the last year and a half i mike rogers intelligence chairman was under the conclusion that they were either positioned for use and ready to do that or in fact have been used. >> now, of course israel concerned about the war in syria just across the northeastern border. and these latest claims may increase pressure on the u.s. to perhaps get more involved in some way or another. >> for the latest on this situation in syria and president obama's middle east trip overall we have live reports now from john king in jerusalem and ivan watson in jordan. >> let's start with those accusations of chemical warfare in syria yet to be verified. what does that mean for the u.s. involvement in this conflict? ivan watson, you're following

the story from nearby amman. tell us what you're hearing about even what happened? >> conflicting reports and most of the information is coming from the syrian government which first made the accusation on tuesday accusing rebels of carrying out some kind of chemical weapons attack in a government-controlled town to the west of aleppo that killed at least 25 people and wounded scores of people. the rebels were very quick to deny that charge. and in turn accuse the government of misfiring one of its own chemical weapons at that town. so we really don't know one way or the other some chemical weapons experts, michael, have said from the evidence we've seen on syrian state tv, it's not enough to really conclusively make the case that any chemical weapons were used. take a listen to what the u.s. ambassador to syria, robert ford, said to cnn. he says it's also too early to tell whether these weapons were

used. >> so far we have no evidence to substantiate the reports that chemical weapons were used yesterday, but i'm willing to underline that we are looking very carefully at these reports. we are consulting with partners in the region and in the international community. >> here's what we do know, michael. more than 70,000 people killed in more than two years of conflict. so this country, jordan, more than 1,000 people refugees crossing the border a day, sometimes up to 100 people wounded. whether or not chemical weapons were used on tuesday, people are dying by the scores in syria every day. michael. >> chemical weapons certainly doing the job without that. ivan watson in amman, jordan. >> right now president obama should be meeting with prime minister benjamin netanyahu.

this is the president's first trip during his second term to israel. it's significant for several reasons. the president is trying to reassure israel about strategy of keeping iran from developing a nuclear weapon for one. >> exactly. and the u.s. and israel of course discussing how to deal with the civil war happening across the border in syria. the president also wants to see whether israel and the palestinians are prepared to perhaps restart peace talks. not many people hopeful on that. >> as we mentioned john king is covering this from the perspective jerusalem. john, start with syria and the claims of chemical weapons. does this push syria to the top of the agenda now for the president and for mr. netanyahu? >> prime minister netanyahu and the president are first and foremost worried about iran. no question syria will get more of the conversation. about 135 miles, fred and michael, where i'm standing here in jerusalem to damascus. so the israelis have always been concerned about the potential

use of chemical weapons in their neighborhood if you will. and a key source of information for the united states throughout this two-year plus now syria uprising. so there's no question that president obama while he's here will be trying to get the latest intelligence sharing. his staff as well as the president himself and plotting strategy on what to do. i can tell you from israeli perspective they believe assad has months, perhaps to survive in power and they're very worried in israel about what comes next because they have the experience of what happened recently in egypt. but it is iran the top focus especially for the israeli prime minister. president obama has said recently he wants to give more chance for diplomacy, he thinks there's several more months of an opening to try to have a diplomatic solution. the israeli president told me yesterday he's fully convinced no doubts president obama would use military force if necessary if dmoems failed and iran was at the point of having a nuclear warhead. the question on this trip is to see whether prime minister netanyahu who raised doubts about the president in the past shares president perez's conviction that there's no room,

no space between israel and washington on that question. >> john, i think there's very little chance we'll see president obama and prime minister netanyahu playing basketball together or something. it's always been a traditionally frosty relationship. i suppose it's a lot of fence mending going on here. is it warming up at all there? >> there is some evidence already that it's warming up a bit. look, do not expect these two very different men and their personal characteristics and their political philosophy, president obama left of center, prime minister netanyahu right of center, no question netanyahu favored romney in the presidential election. i talked to a top u.s. official the other day who put it this way, he said "they're stuck with each other." both of these guys just won elections. the president starting his second term. prime minister netanyahu put together his coalition government. iran is a huge policy issue, trying to restart the peace process is a huge issue, if they

have a better personal relationship they can get things done. you saw first thing this morning the prime minister tries to crack a joke, he says if you can ditch your security detail, i have a fake mustache and we'll go out and have a few drinks in the bar. it's clear they're trying to at least for the public con sujs to show they're going to work together better on the personal side. >> good to see you, john king there, traveling with the president. the israeli embassy released a video for president obama's trip. we want everybody to take a look at this. ♪ thank you for being a friend ♪ traveled down the road and back again ♪ >> i know. you're scratching -- rubbing your eyes saying am i believing this? those cutouts of president obama and prime minister netanyahu, well, they are hamming it up there to the golden girls theme song "thank you for being a friend." it's playing up the alliance between the two countries. >> yeah. the embassy actually released that trailer via twitter yesterday saying the state and people of israel know america

will always have israel's back when it comes to israel's security. here's more of what we're working on this hour for "around the world." every day we're learning something new about pope francis. >> we are, aren't we? in fact, back when he was a cardinal he supported civil unions for same sex couples. now, what this could mean for the future of the catholic church we will discuss that. >> plus, british prime minister david cameron wants to give money to working parents to help with child care. sounds great, but stay at home moms are furious over the way his spokesperson explained it. >> yes. it was all in the words. also, if you see an asteroid heading your way, nasa's advice there's really nothing you can do. head to the park and have a good time. [ male announcer ] this is kevin.

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but what you taste is the fruit. ...and we inspected his brakes for free. -free is good. -free is very good. [ male announcer ] now get 50% off brake pads and shoes at meineke. welcome back everyone. here are the stories making news around the world right now. >> a letter found in osama bin laden's compound in pakistan

revealed a sinister setting out a plan to hit soft targets in the u.s. and europe. >> the writer of these documents ta taking jobs with sensitive companies like those transporting gasoline and then wait for the right moment to strike. the u.s. justice department passed those documents onto german prosecutors who are working on a terrorism case. in guatemala a landmark case is taking place. it is the first time a country has tried an ex-head of state on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity. >> now, back in 1982 the head of the military government for several months and prosecutors are trying to prove he was aware of and responsible for atrocities that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,700 indigenous people. >> until 2012 he was a congressman and was protected by a law that grants immunity to public officials. here's more of an uplifting

story. a pakistani girl shot by the taliban five months ago is back in school for the first time since then. we're talking about malala yousufzai. >> she went to a school in birmingham accompanied by her father. the 15-year-old was targeted because she spoke up for girl's education in pakistan. malala says she's excited to head back to the classroom. >> i think it is the happiest moment that i am going back to my school. and today i have my books, my bag and i will learn and talk to my friends, i will talk to my teacher. >> imagine, she was shot in the head. >> in the head. >> her recovery has been just extraordinary. she did of course become an international symbol for women's rights because of all of this. even got nominated for the nobel peace prize. >> very precocious young lady.

at the vatican, new insight on pope fran tis cis on the iss same sex marriage. >> the "new york times" is reporting the pope has a practical side on this divisive issue. >> and he may be actually open to the notion of civil unions. john allen joining us again from rome. good to see you again, john. "new york times" reporting that then-cardinal bergoglio in 2010 quietly suggested the church come out in support of civil unions. at the same time he was publicly leading the charge against same sex marriage in argentina. so it's an amazing revolution. explain exactly what he said and why he kind of changed his stance. >> well, hello michael and fredricka. yes. what we know is "new york times" is reporting today that there was a meeting of the bishops of argentina ahead of a national debate on same sex marriage in which then cardinal jorge mario

bergoglio as that perhaps they could accept civil recognition but not same sex marriage. we've reached out to sources in argentina though we can't confirm the details of that meeting, what we do know is what's reported in this piece is consistent with the way cardinal bergoglio handled this issue over the years. that is he has opposed the idea of making other kinds of living arrangements equivalent to marriage between a man and a woman, but he has also signalled openness to some form of civil recognition for same sex couples that would include things like spousal benefits, health insurance, property rights and those sorts of things. so in general i think we could say that he profiles on this issue as theologically orthodox but politically moderate. >> i suppose it raises the point too that what you say as a bishop or cardinal is very different to the pressures applied once you become the pontiff. does this reveal anything about

what he might do now that he's pope? >> well, michael, you make a very good point. you cannot always draw a straight line between positions that cardinals take and what they do once they're elected to the papacy. you might remember eight years ago when cardinal ratzinger was then elected as pope benedict xvi, we spent a lot of time on air talking about how cardinal ratzinger taken a hard line of turkey joining the european union on the grounds that that would somehow water down the christian identity of europe. yet once he became pope he upheld the official vatican position, which was neutrality on the idea of turkey joining the eu as long as certain human rights guarantees were upheld. we don't really know right now what this bit of background about pope francis means in terms of what he will do as pope except to say that it does seem like on the very contentious issue of gay marriage which is of course front and center on the culture wars in the west, in

the past at least he's been one inclined to try to find common ground. >> vatican analyst john allen from rome, good stuff. >> coming up, venezuela's acting president says the u.s. is planning to kill his opponent in next month's election. all the chaos in the country. >> more on that. that's right. [ lane ] are you growing old waiting for your wrinkle cream to work? neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair has the fastest retinol formula. to visibly reduce fine lines and wrinkles in just one week. neutrogena®.

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the acting president of venezuela is making some rather explosive claims against the u.s. >> we're used to this from hugo chavez, but this time it's his successor maduro saying the pentagon, the cia and two former bush administration officials are plotting to assassinate his opponent. his opponent in next month's presidential election. here's rafael romo. >> at a campaign stop in the south seas, nicolas maduro addresses farmers. at a cabinet meeting a military style green shirt while addressing the country on tv, but it's what venezuela's acting

president's saying is what's making waves. he's claimed there's a conspiracy orchestrated in the united states to kill venezuela opposition candidate. the ultimate goal maduro says is destabilizing the country. two fierce critics of the venezuelan social government who worked for the u.s. state department under president and bush. he responded with an accusation of his own tweeting these charges are so far removed from reality they may as well be a smoke screen behind which the venezuela government is planning to eliminate capriles. >> the united states categorically rejects allegations of any u.s. government involvement in any plot to destabilize the venezuelan government or to harm anyone in venezuela. with regard to our former ambassadors, they've spoken for themselves quite clearly. >> meanwhile venezuelan

opposition leader and presidential candidate capriles the alleged intended target of the conspiracy says maduro is just trying to legitimize his candidate and sway voters to his side while deflecting attention from venezuela's real problems including rampant inflation, crumbling infrastructure and escalating crime. [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> translator: his presidency is illegitimate. >> maduro was hand-picked by hugo chavez as his successor and ruling party's candidate in next month's presidential election. he's trying to ride a wave of sympathy for chavez who was immensely popular among venezuela's poor. a recent independent poll puts maduro 14 percentage points ahead of capriles. it seems he's also trying to mimic the late president's fiery and sometimes outrageous

rhetoric. rafael romo, cnn, atlanta. president obama is in israel this hour meeting with prime minister netanyahu. >> still to come, the significance of this trip and of the u.s./israeli relationship. stay with us.

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president barack obama is meeting this hour with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu. >> allegations of chemical warfare emerging in syria, iran's nuclear program and then stalled for a long time talks between israel and palestinian. all of that on the agenda. >> wolf blitzer joining us from washington to put some of this into context for us. wolf, first of all this is the president's first visit to israel since taking office. why now? what's the significance of the timing? >> i think there's some critical issues going on. the whole region seems to be in turmoil right now.

north africa throughout the middle east if you go through to afghanistan and pakistan, i haven't seen so much volatility in this area in a long time, if ever. and there's real problems in israel right now. it's got problems obviously from egypt and gaza. there's a new muslim brotherhood-led government and hezbollah having a big role the israelis fearful of what's going on there. move to syria, we all know what's happening there in the last 24 hours reports maybe chemical weapons used, reports that haven't been verified by u.s. intelligence. you keep moving down the road through jordan and iraq and iran. i think the president wanted to coordinate strategy with the prime minister of israel benjamin netanyahu. he's just formed a brand new government. they both have to work together over the next four years. and i think president obama wanted to make sure that both of these governments were on the same page on these really sensitive issues. >> you mentioned syria, wolf, and the accusations flying back

and forth about chemical weapons. the obama administration has said in the past this would be a game changer that is a red line. as we were discussing earlier with iran watson, tens of thousands of people have been readily killed by conventional weapons, why would this make it different? >> i think the great fear that the u.s. has, that the obama administration has, certainly the israelis have, if these weapons, if these stockpiles got into the wrong hands, they sense right now -- i think they still sense, that the syrian military of president bashar al assad, even though he's desperate and may be on his last leg, he's probably not going to use expensively chemical weapons. but they fear these weapons could get in the hands of terrorists, sympathizers to al qaeda, if it got into the hands of hezbollah which the u.s. and israel see as an extension in effect of iran, there would be deep concern.

i don't think the israelis would allow that to happen. i think they would use military force to prevent that if necessary. and i suspect the united states would as well. so this is a really sensitive moment right now in the region. and it underscores how delicate these talks are between the president and the prime minister. >> all right. >> wolf blitzer, thanks so much. >> see you in "the situation room" a little bit later, wolf. >> 4:00 time for that. >> thank you. >> you know, the last time you flew from overseas coming into the u.s., you likely encountered long lines at security, right? bag searched and all that good stuff. >> if it arrived. had a couple of those. well, overseas travelers coming into the u.s. say they're sick of it and staying away. ♪ i am stuck on band-aid brand ♪ ♪ 'cause germs don't stick on me ♪ [ female announcer ] band-aid brand has quiltvent technology with air channels to let boo boos breathe. [ giggles ] [ female announcer ] quiltvent technology, only from band-aid brand. use with neosporin first aid antibiotic.

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come to the united states? apparently tourists are becoming very hesitant. >> they are. why? because a new survey says one of the big reasons is unwelcoming customs procedures. >> lines too long among other things. zain asher is in new york. what are our friends overseas saying? >> hey, fred, well, according to the survey it's really not guilty not good. 43% of visitors say they would avoid coming to the u.s. because of the entry process. they're talking about the long immigration lines. the survey also said two-thirds of business travelers won't visit the u.s. in the next five years because of the customs process as well. these are really staggering numbers especially considering just how important tourism is to the u.s. in terms of economic activity. it technically counts 8% of all u.s. exports last year. i do also want to mention the group compiled this report that the u.s. travel association they're a lobby group and they only surveyed travelers from six countries. it may not necessarily be the best representation, but if this is how travelers feel, especially business ones, the

huge problem often the big spenders. i did some digging myself and wanted to look at just how long weight times are at international airports across the u.s. take a look. some of them are actually pretty staggering. jfk in particular no surprises there two hours. washington, d.c., dulles and lax, just a little over 30 minutes if you're traveling from overseas landing in minneapolis, fred. >> not bad. minneapolis not bad. the rest bad. >> and it's the lines for the international visitors too. u.s. lines are always shorter than the ones for us foreigners. the thing is, yeah, zain is. you've got the spending cuts. that's just going to make it worse, isn't it? >> definitely. we're already seeing signs in airports saying staffing has already been reduced. government spending cut means reductions must be applied to almost every homeland security

program including customs and border protection. the agency recently said budget cuts will "negatively effect the mission readiness and capabilities of men and women on the front lines." that of course includes border patrol officers. and since the commerce department is expecting a 4% growth in travel and tourism this year, those wait times, which we all hate, could get even worse. guys. >> oh, boy. thanks for the good news, zain. you're encouraging. >> very good. >> all right. here we go again. >> yeah, here we go again. more harsh comments about stay-at-home moms. >> poor choice of words. >> yes, it is. >> or is it something more than that? this time it's from the office of the british prime minister. much more when we come right back. [ male announcer ] this one goes out to all the allergy muddlers.

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welcome back to "around the world." this week 193 countries at the u.n. will consider a global treaty to limit the trade of everything from ak-47 assault rifles to hand grenades. >> the u.n. says small arms are flowing way too easily across borders and landing in the hands of gangs, rebels, pirates and terrorists. >> the u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon says the weapons are fueling armed conflicts, crime and violations of human rights. >> no kidding. a rare public appearance today from britain's queen elizabeth who's been a bit unwell lately accompanied by her husband prince phillip and katharine.

>> they are celebrating 150th anniversary and earlier this month the 86-year-old monarch was admitted to the hospital with a stomach bug. and since her release the palace has limited her schedule. >> good to see her out and about though. now check this out. it's a bowl that was sold for $2.2 million at an auction in new york on tuesday. >> wow. it's a rare piece from china that's about 1,000 years old. oh, my goodness. it looks very delicate. the previous owners bought it for just $3 at a yard sale. >> don't you love those stories? >> if only something like that would happen to me. >> exactly. >> then i'd really love that kind of story. >> they didn't know what it was of course. it was sitting in their living room for years. i don't know how it ended up at the auction house. >> it's a good thing it did. >> indeed. >> more than $2 million later. controversy here.

british prime minister david cameron coming under fire for comments his spokesman made, not him, comments that critics say bash stay at home mothers. >> a new voucher program will pay $1,800 for child care. but when reports was penalizing stay at home moms, the spokesperson maybe didn't use the best words. >> very important as part of supporting those who want to -- here are the words, work hard and to get on -- the announcement is very specifically focusing on helping those who want to work hard and face the very high child care costs. >> oh, boy. so he also said mr. cameron wants to support aspiration. >> so the moms aren't working hard and don't aspire enough. the critics are saying the

implications of stay at home moms don't work hard. but joining us now from her home in england is lynn burnham with the group mothers at home matter. it's really hard to believe these comments were even said. are you shocked? >> i'm very shocked. i'm completely godsmack unbelievable. >> so what are moms saying about this? are they really taking it for this spokesperson's words? or thinking it's an anomaly, the program is not necessarily reflection of what that spokesperson and how that person articulated it. >> no. it was certainly meant. it wasn't an anomaly in any way. what happened is over a period of months here in the uk is that the government has pushed a program to get mothers and very young mothers -- that means mothers whose children are very small still, back into the workplace. and first of all they did it by

reducing and taking away child benefits, which was universal tax credit that was given to all mothers. they did that five months ago. now yesterday they announced that they were going to give credit to parents who were going out to work, but they weren't actually going to bring it into place until 2015 until the next government's in place. so we've got a long way to go until it actually happens. >> there was an interesting survey here in the united states salary.com, i'll give you the stats, they said that mothers spend about 94 hours a week working on their parental duties. this is no real surprise i suppose if you've got kids. things like child care, cooking and cleaning. if they were to get paid for those duties with today's sort of average salary rankings, it comes out to $112,000 a year you'd be paying them. so you generally think stay at

home moms aren't respected in great britain or generally speaking within the community? >> no, they're not respected. women visible in country and there are only two countries in the whole world that don't recognize a family, that means a couple with children in the tax system. that's the uk and mexico. >> so do you feel like this voucher should be extended to everyone whether you're stay at home, have a parent that's a stay at home or whether both parents are working outside the home? >> yes, indeed. what people don't seem to understand is that the mother at home or indeed the father at home, we do respect the choice of families to make that decision to have the father at home if that's what their family choice is. but what we wish for is a level playing field to enable a parent to take that decision. and at the moment the odds are

stacked up heavily against the families that decide to have one of them at home with the children. >> i think the discussion will continue in the uk. certainly in the uk papers today that i was reading. and i want to thank you for joining us lynne burnham with the group mothers at home matter. appreciate you joining us here. >> you're very welcome. >> there's one thing you can do if an asteroid is heading your way. >> what's that? >> pray. >> that's about all you can do. and that's the advice from nasa. >> we should take their advice. >> we should take their advice. or go to the pub. ♪

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you'll probably remember this. it was the boom heard around the world. >> yeah, that one. remember that last month a meteor exploded over russia. and on the same day an asteroid had a close fly-by. >> so in the wake of these events, congress wants to know how the u.s. is actually protecting itself. nasa's chief provided this answer. >> the bottom line as always, the funding did not come. and i don't care whose fault it is or if it's anybody's fault, we all know what we're facing today. and we're all sitting here today as the congress and the administration try to figure out

sequestration, something that never should have happened, nobody planned to happen, but we're facing it today. so the answer to you is, if it's coming in three weeks, pray. >> that's reassuring. >> lovely. >> houston, we have a budget problem. chad myers, is the sky falling? >> it isn't falling. we don't know anything that's headed our way just yet. that's good news. nasa says they know where 95% of these big asteroids are, that concerns me that they don't know where the other 5% are. and the ones that came across and hit russia, they know where 10% of those are. i don't like those odds. when there's a 10% chance of rain, that means it's probably not going to rain, but there's a 90% chance of something else, right? >> right. >> we don't know where almost 20,000 of these bigger than bus-size rocks are. they're out there flying around. and it's a 3d collision course. it's out there. we're going to have to see. they said right now still doesn't matter how much money you spend, it will still take five years to deflect anything we see coming.

so not only if it's coming in three weeks, pray, coming in two years, pray, three years, pray. >> oh. >> that's a lot of -- >> yeah, a lot of praying. we don't want to think that these bus-size rocks are likely to run into something or somehow dissipate or crumble on their own before they were to actually make impact. >> something about the russia size that we just saw is a one in 100 year event. >> i'm going with bruce willis, or pray, whatever you like. chad, always good to see you. >> chad, thank you. >> chad myers there. a little olympic news. swimmer michael phelps says he's staying out of the water. >> he's okay with where he's at in a moment. no more competing. hear why coming up. ♪ if loving you is wrong ♪ i don't wanna be right [ record scratch ] what?! it's not bad for you. it just tastes that way. [ female announcer ] honey nut cheerios cereal -- heart-healthy, whole grain oats. you can't go wrong loving it.

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all right. michael, new look, new philosophy. and he says he doesn't even miss swimming. >> i don't blame him. imagine all the hours in the pool. anyway the world's most decorated olympic swimmer of course he says he's not going to be making a comeback. >> i have to ask you, michael jordan did it, mario lemieux did it, many boxers did it, you don't know what the question is? >> i do. i already know where you're going. >> so is there a comeback? >> no. >> no way? >> no. >> not even when you're here in rio? >> i'll be here. i'll be watching. but, no, i mean i've done everything i've wanted to in the sport. >> what do you think you'll miss the most?

>> the smell of the chlorine. >> no. what's funny is i just had my hot tub filled in my house and they put chlorine in it and i was like, man, i really don't miss that smell. i think it's really just the people that i was able to swim with and the people that i was able to train with. i mean, i have the best group, the coolest group, most relaxed group, people i swim with every single day. >> wlo do you think will take over the baton for u.s. swimming from you? who will be filling your shoes, if that's even possible. >> you know, i think missy has done a remarkable job. missy has done a great job. allison's done a great job. ryan is very versatile. we have a lot of great swimmers who can swim multiple events. and, you know, we have a great team. there could be somebody that's up and coming that's going to be even better. we have no idea. >> wow. >> that's right. >> turning a new page. >> indeed. he has a record 22 swimming

medals at the olympic summer games in athens, beijing and also london. >> so incredible. >> yeah, 18 of those are gold. >> that's right. oh, my goodness. if you're going to do it, you're going to do it right and he's done that. >> definitely has. oh, i've got to go. >> the other michael's got 20 go now. >> lovely to see you. >> lovely to see you too. see you tomorrow. much more of the "newsroom" right after this. president obama is in israel for the first time as president. among the issues he's discussing with prime minister netanyahu. accusations of chemical weapons used in syria. >> there's four americans killed -- >> congresswoman, you're the one who brought it up. >> is this the art of dodge unfolding? michele bachmann trying to duck questions by running away from our dana bash.

and -- >> my roommate just pulled a fire alarm and he's got a gun out. >> hear from the students who may have prevented a massacre at a florida college campus. this is the "cnn newsroom." i'm fredricka whitfield in for suzanne malveaux. we begin with two major developments out of colorado where the governor has just signed into law a series of gun control measures. they are some of the most restrictive in the country. one limits magazine capacity. the other to deal with background checks and how to pay for them. this comes just hours after the state's prison chief was gunned down. authorities say tom clements was shot in his home last night. police are talking to neighbors and searching the woods near his property. at a news conference a short while ago colorado's governor was clearly very emotional. >> to me, to i think all of us, in many ways he helped define what a public servant is.

he did his job quietly, intently, he cared deeply about his staff, his family and the community. approach to corrections he was all about best practices and using data and information to continuously improve the way we do things. how do we make our prisons safer, not just for the employees but for the inmates? how do we do a better job of preparing inmates for returning to the community? >> police are looking into the possibility that the shooting could be related to his high profile job. jim spellman is in el paso, county. jim, i gather you have some new information that comes directly from the police. >> the sheriffs here in el paso county, colorado, say they have

their most important piece of information yet in this investigation. somebody here in the neighborhood last night witnessed a car with the engine running without a driver in it right around the time of the shooting. here's somebody from the sheriff's department. listen. >> it was odd in the sense that the vehicle was unoccupied but running. and a couple minutes later that same resident passed back by the location, the car was gone. just a few minutes beyond that, that same resident was traveling in her -- in their vehicle and observed that vehicle of interest traveling westbound on higby road and turning south on jackson creek parkway which would lead back to baptist park road which of course feeds the interstate. >> the sheriff's department describes the car as a late 1990s boxy style two-door similar to something like a lincoln, dark in color, black or possibly dark green. now, near the highway entrance there are many surveillance cameras, traffic cameras, gas stations, banks, things like

that. they're checking that footage now to see if they can get some sort of a linkage, maybe get a license plate and find this person that way, fredricka. >> jim, are authorities saying anything about whether they believe the shooting was in any way related to the gun measures that i just spelled out moments ago being signed into law today? >> there's no indication that it's related to the gun legislation at all. i can tell you that mr. clement was not a high profile public figure. not the kind of person you would see on tv a lot, the kind of person advocating for any of these charges. he's the guy definitely in the background, but police tell us they are working with the department of corrections here to try to track down any leads that could come from that front possibly from somebody who recently paroled, a family or friend of somebody who was denied parole, somebody who's in prison now. way too soon to tell in the investigation if any of that will at all lead to the killer, but those are definitely avenues they're pursuing at this time, fred. >> all right. jim